Embattled director won't seek re-election to Tri-City board

Kathleen Sterling has clashed with board majority, administration

Kathleen Sterling, the embattled Tri-City Healthcare District director, said she will not seek re-election this November.

Sterling, who is in her third term on the district’s seven-member board, did not file her nomination papers, which were due Friday to the registrar of voters.

For years she has clashed with the hospital’s administration and some of her fellow board members, who she believed have created a culture of secrecy at the partially taxpayer-funded district that provides health care services for nearly 500,000 residents in Carlsbad, Oceanside and Vista.

The hospital’s administration has contended that Sterling’s behavior and frequent outbursts at public meetings have become a spectacle that has taken away from the hospital’s recent financial turnaround.

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In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, Sterling said the reason she was stepping down was because of the treatment she has endured over the past two years on the board. Sterling has been attending meetings via teleconference in a building across he parking lot from the hospital’s main building as a result of several censures the board has levied against her.

“Over the past two years, the compromised board has done everything possible to silence me instead of answering pertinent questions about the people’s business,” she said in her statement. “I’ve been badgered, threatened, harassed, intimidated and insulted… The compromised Board and CEO have repeatedly falsely accused me of misconduct through outright lies, innuendos, hearsay, and baseless censures.”

In total, Sterling has been censured eight times for actions ranging from what they called “boorish behavior” to allegations that she leaked confidential information from closed session meetings. Sterling has denied the accusations.

As a result of the censures, the board has stripped her of her $100 meeting stipend, legal indemnification and barred her from attending closed session meetings.

Tri-City CEO Larry Anderson and spokeswoman Teresa Connors said the hospital administration would not comment on Sterling’s announcement. In the past, Anderson has been very critical of Sterling’s behavior, at one point calling her a “double agent” for allegedly revealing closed-session information.

“It is time for the world to learn the stories of two directors, whom the public unwittingly elected to the board … without knowledge of their attempt to deceive the public,” Anderson said in October, referring to Sterling and Randy Horton, another board member who has been the subject of controversy. “The deception comes in the form of their repeated violations of their duties of care, loyalty and obedience.”

The board also filed several restraining orders against her after an incident in February where they accused her of injuring a security guard in an attempt to enter the board meeting room. A Superior Court Judge has tossed out the restraining orders, and Sterling has had several legal victories in the administration’s attempt to appeal the ruling.

Sterling also faces a criminal charge of misdemeanor undue influence, which stemmed from an July 2010 meeting in which she opposed her own censure, and in dong so, voted to preserve her $100-per-meeting stipend. Originally, she was also charged with felony vote trading stemming from a May 2010 incident in which Sterling allegedly sought political favors in exchange for her vote. A Superior Court judge dismissed that charge. Sterling said she looks forward to defending herself against the remaining charge. A trial is scheduled for Sept. 10.

The District Attorney’s Office declined comment on the case through spokeswoman Tanya Sierra.

Sterling said that she will continue to scrutinize the board’s dealings as a private citizen, and encouraged others to do the same.

“If the public wants affordable health care, then the public needs to get actively involved,” Sterling said. “I encourage every voter to attend Tri-City Healthcare District Board and committee meetings, and follow what is taking place and how your tax dollars are being spent.”

Eight people, including incumbents RoseMarie Reno, George Coulter and Charlene Anderson, have filed papers for the Nov. 6 election for four seats on the board.